


Loki's Promise

by Arrows_and_Bullets



Category: Avengers, Marvel
Genre: Betrayal, Blood, F/M, Violence, spell, torture (verbal and physical)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-23
Updated: 2014-02-23
Packaged: 2018-01-13 12:25:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1226161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arrows_and_Bullets/pseuds/Arrows_and_Bullets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“I won’t touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he’ll wake long enough just to see his good work. And when he screams, I’ll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!”</i>
</p><p>  <i>“You’re a monster.”</i></p><p> </p><p>Loki's promise rings in Natasha's mind when she sees Clint, blue eyes and all, standing before her.<br/>(originally posted on Tumblr)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_“I won’t touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he’ll wake long enough just to see his good work. And when he screams, I’ll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!”_

_“You’re a monster.”_

~

“Clint?” Natasha asked softly, eyes watching him carefully. She had been looking for him for a while, having no luck towards him. But now, he had appeared out of nowhere, eyes glowing light blue.

Clint took a step towards her, his gaze gentle. “It’s me, Tasha,” he reassured with hands out at his sides. “Loki let me go.”

She let him walk up to her, not fully believing anything. Loki’s words echoed through her mind, making her frown. What if…? No, Clint would never do that. At least not her Clint.

“Just like Budapest, hey?” He asked, a familiar lopsided grin appearing on his face. Yes, it was her Clint.

“I remember you saying we remember it differently, Hawkass,” Natasha replied.

He chuckled and walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She relaxed into him, resting her head on his shoulder and breathing in his scent. He smelt different, but was acting the same. Just as she started to believe everything was alright with him, a deadly sharp pain jolted up her side, sending her body stumbling away from him.

“C-Cli-“ she tried as her hands went to the bottom of her ribcage.

The hilt of a dagger was all that was left protruding from her body, the rest of it buried in her flesh. Laughter, not belonging to her or Clint, echoed around them as she looked up at her partner. His eyes seemed to be shining a brighter blue as he grinned darkly at her. Loki. It had to be him.

“Break away from it, Barton,” Natasha said, trying to stay strong. Pain was overwhelming her, but she knew there was more to come.

“From what, Tasha? From what?” Clint replied, walking up to her. He grabbed her hair in one hand when she tried to flinch away. “None of that, not until I am done.”

He threw her to the ground, making her cry out in pain as the dagger was pushed more in. She didn’t need to look to know her partner was smirking at her.

“You know,” he said as he knelt down next to her, pinning her down by placing a hand forcefully on her shoulder. “I use to believe that I had made a good choice by not killing you, by bringing you into S.H.I.E.L.D. I use to believe, even, that I could help you wipe out your ‘red ledger’. But now, after all these years, I know that you can never be free of your past, that you will always be the murderer that you were raised to be. You, Natasha, are a pathetic monster and not even worth my time, but someone has to kill you.”

She knew it wasn’t Clint’s self speaking, but his words had hurt her none the less. She had trusted him with all her secrets, all the shameful things from her past, and he could use them against her in every way.

“Clint, please,” she whispered, trying to look up at him. There had to be a way to free his mind.

He chuckled and ripped the dagger out from her side, grinning at her sounds of pain. “Please what? Is this love, Agent Romanoff? Is this the murderer loving the one with enough heart to kill her?” He dug the point of the dagger into her back, drawing blood. “Sing, spider, and tell me if this is love.”

At her silence, he dragged the dagger down her back, making her scream. Pain danced through her body, blocking out all other sensations. She didn’t fear bleeding or death by themselves, but she feared them coming at the hand of someone she trusted, and Clint knew that.

More strange laughter echoed around them, blending in with her screaming. When the dagger reached her tailbone, her body went limp and it was pulled out. Clint rolled her body over, staring down into her eyes with no emotion. Silently, he pressed the tip of the dagger up under her jaw, a smile appearing the same time she winced.

“You can’t stand to go out silently,” he said softly but cruelly. “You need noise to feel like you tried to live.”

“Clint, don’t do this. Don’t for what we had,” Natasha begged, her eyes clouding with tears.

He chuckled and moved the dagger, slowly driving it into her stomach and only stopping when she cried out. “Do what, kill you? You were already dead, you worthless mutt.”

Natasha’s vision started to haze over as a flash of green went off behind Clint, marking the appearance of Loki. She knew it was him, but the words had come from her partner’s mind, not the God’s. As the sharp blade pressed against her neck, she let her body fall limp and eyes close, going into the darkness as the final sounds resonated around her.

_“Open your eyes, archer, and see what you have done.”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint wakes to see what he has done to Natasha.

_“I won’t touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he’ll wake long enough just to see his good work. And when he screams, I’ll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!”_

_“You’re a monster.”_

~

Clint slumped forward, kneeling on the ground, as he felt the weight on his mind disappear. He rubbed his closed eyes, trying to ignore the pounding pain in his head. What had happened to him?

“I said, open your eyes and see what you have done,” a silky voice said. Loki.

Fearing what lay before him, his eyes shot open and widened at the sight. Natasha, his beautiful Natasha, was limp on the ground in front of him, covered in blood. What had he done? In a flash, everything he had said to her, every way he had hurt her, came back into his memories.

“Natasha!” He exclaimed, jumping forward and wrapping his arms gently around her body. “Oh my god, Nat!”

His eyes filled with tears as he shook his head, desperate for it all to not be real. But it was, and he couldn’t handle it. He had killed his Tasha, his spider, his partner. Loki’s chuckle behind him made his head whip around, eyes narrowed.

“I can’t say I didn’t warn her,” he said, voice as smooth as silk.

He narrowed his eyes in anger, arms still around Natasha. “You’re a monster,” he growled. The tears ran down his face and one hand slipped off of his partner and to his waist where a knife was located.

“Funny, that’s exactly what Agent Romanoff said to me when I told her what I would make you do.” But Loki wasn’t grinning, he was looking behind Clint with an emotionless face.

“Loki, stand down!” The familiar voice of Fury yelled out from behind them.

He looked over and saw a whole squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents standing tall, guns pointed towards Loki. Agent Hill was at Fury’s side, her eyes locked on Natasha’s body. Her face was unreadable, but her eyes were full of anger. In her hands was Loki’s staff, aimed towards Loki.

“Only if I get a drink,” Loki replied smoothly, casually shrugging.

Fury said something else, but it was all blurred to Clint. He didn’t notice the yelling or agents running, just Natasha in his arms. Her face was still slightly scrunched up in pain, odd for death, but still there. If only he could tell her he-

“Barton, stand up,” Hill interrupted, shaking him from behind.

Clint looked at her and shook his head softly. “No,” he whispered. “I should be in her place. She doesn’t deserve to be dead.”

Hill frowned at his last word and knelt down next to him, two fingers on Natasha’s neck. Her eyes widened and she turned to a group of free agents. “Get these two out of here right now! Drag Barton if you have to, but get Romanoff out and to the Helicarrier immediately!”

He looked at Hill, a frown forming. “You have to let me stay with her,” he said. “I just killed the one I love.”

She sighed but didn’t say a word, simply nodding to something or someone behind him. Straight after, arms were around his shoulders and pulling him to his feet. A second set of arms joined the first and began to pull him away from Natasha’s body. He started to struggle, trying to get back to his partner. His efforts became stronger when two other agents gently picked her up and raced away.

“No!” Clint cried out, watching them take her with wide eyes. “I need to be with-”

He broke off when numbness spread from his left shoulder through his body, along with a pinching feeling. Sedative. Someone had dared to sedate him. He looked up at Hill just before he blacked out, holding a small gun in her hand, aimed at him.

~

Blackness. That was the first thing Clint noticed when he slowly came back into consciousness. When he heard voices around him, he restrained from opening his eyes to see exactly who was there.

“When we let him wake, Hill, you’re going to have to tell him she’s alive,” Fury said. He heard shuffling and the voice came from another location. “His heart is speeding up, put him back under.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter - Clint's been avoiding seeing Natasha, filled with guilt over his actions. Avoiding her at least until someone kicks him out of his room.

_“I won’t touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he’ll wake long enough just to see his good work. And when he screams, I’ll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!”_

_“You’re a monster.”_

~

Clint paced his room in the Helicarrier, chewing on his lip. When he had woken earlier that week, Agent Hill had told him that Natasha had survived Loki controlling him, and that she was recovering quickly. Everyone else that knew her had gone to see how she was doing, but he couldn’t. Hill had suggested he go to her, but he mentally wasn’t able to go to her, to look the one he hurt in the eye.

He had promised Natasha once that he would never hurt her and he would always be there for her, but he’d nearly killed her. She probably thought he was a monster and was horrible.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, bringing him to the present.

“Come in,” he called out, still pacing.

The door opened and Steve walked in, worry clearly written on his face. “Alright, Barton, here’s the deal,” he began with a sigh. “Either you come out of this room, or Stark and I drag you out, not to mention anyone else who wants to help.”

Clint shook his head at him. “Sorry, Cap, but I can’t do that.”

“You need to come out, Barton. She’s…” Steve trailed off and looked down. “Just come out before we need to drag you.”

Clint looked up, frowning. “She’s what?” He asked coldly.

“Asking for you,” Steve replied, crossing his arms loosely. “Every day since she woke, she’s been either whispering your name in her sleep or downright demanding you. So, because I want to do what she wants, you can either walk out of this room now, or get dragged. And I might mention Stark is more than happy to do so.”

He frowned at Steve’s assertiveness, but nodded at his words. Natasha… if she wanted him, he would have to go. “Yes sir,” he said. “I’ll get out.”

“Good,” He replied and held the door open for him.

Clint nodded at him as he walked out of his room, heart beating fast. Lining the hallway outside of his room was Tony, Hill, Sharon and one of the junior agents. He looked them all in the eye, stopping for a second on each person. Five people all eager to drag him out and to his partner.

“Aren’t you all enthusiastic,” he muttered as he walked away from them.

He went down the familiar corridors, heading to the medical bays. He’d been to see her before in medical, usually staying with her constantly, but this time was different. Could he look her in the eye after what he did?

He stopped outside Medical Bay Four, breathing slowly in and out. His heart was beating fast, so fast he thought it would jump out of his chest of stop beating entirely. He raised his fist to the door, ready to knock when he paused. No, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t go in and see her.

He glanced back down the corridor, once again chewing on his lip. If he didn’t see her now, Steve would surely drag him back. He cursed under his breath and, while looking away, knocked twice on the door.

“Come in,” an unfamiliar voice called out. He’d gotten the wrong room.

He opened the door and stepped in, bashfully looking up. “I apologise, ma’am, I’ve gotten the wrong room…” he trailed off as he saw a junior agent, the owner of the voice, sitting on a chair beside a bed, in which Natasha was laying.

“Fury sends me younger agents to tell me how their training is going,” Natasha said softly, her voice strained. The agent nodded before getting up and leaving. “Honestly, I don’t know why he does it.”

Clint slowly walked over to her and sat down in the now empty chair, looking at all the machines she was connected to. After a minute, he looked across at her curious face.

“Steve kicked me out of my room,” he said softly, looking down again. He had to do something to break the silence.

“He said you’ve been sulking,” she replied. Her hand drifted out of the sheets and gently brushed his.

He opened his hand and gently took hers in his. “I am sorry, Natasha,” he said, looking into her eyes again. “I-I-I couldn’t control him and you got hurt. I am so, so sorry.”

“Shhh,” she whispered, gently squeezing his hand. “I know it wasn’t you, so there’s no need to apologize. But I did hear what you said after he let you go.”

He swallowed loudly and frowned. “W-Which parts?”

“All of it. I came back around after he let you go. The last word I heard that came from you was love.” Natasha slowly sat up, her gaze intense. “Did you mean it? Did you mean it when you said you loved me?”

Clint bent his head down so it was level with hers. “Every word,” he whispered.

A smile came across her face and she lent into his arms, which wrapped gently around her body. “Good,” she whispered into his ear. “I feel the same.”


End file.
